James Stewart Crashes in Moto One At 2012 Thunder Valley; Dungey Takes Overall Win

Thunder Valley MX, located in Lakewood Colorado, hosted Round 3 of the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Outdoor Motocross Championship. Moto one of the premier class looked as if it was going to be a repeat win for James Stewart, who now rides for Team Yoshimura Suzuki. However, shortly after moving into the lead and setting the winning pace, Stewart crashed in a muddy section, on the back of the track. Stewart was covered in mud and slowly cruised around the track until finally pulling off. Ryan Dungey, who had already moved into second place prior to Stewart’s surprise crash, took full advantage and easily took the moto one victory.

Apparently, Stewart claimed that he was trying to avoid a member of the track crew who was crossing the track right in front of him. Official review of Bubba’s Go Pro camera footage did indeed show a track official in Stewart’s path. However, it is unsure if that is truly what caused Stewart to crash in the following turn. He may have been distracted by the worker on the track, as he headed into the muddy turn. The right hander Stewart crashed in, was full of deep muddy ruts, the kind that do require solid concentration to get through fast. Stewart, however, seemed to pass the track worker without any problem before falling seconds later in the turn. News from the JS7 camp quickly revealed that Stewart injured his wrist in the crash and would not be racing in the second moto. Team Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer, filling in for injured teammate Ryan Villopoto, placed a strong second, behind Dungey. Weimer’s second place finish was his best ever in a 450 outdoor national. Metcalfe rounded out Moto one’s podium after passing Alessi.

Heavy storms caused a delayed start for the remaining motos. Eventually, the sky cleared and the soggy fans saw more exciting racing action. Ryan Dungey claimed the overall with another first place finish in Moto 2, while Jake Weimer’s 4th place was good enough for 2nd overall. Andrew Short had a much better ride in moto 2, as the team Honda rider finished a strong 2nd place, to round out the podium with a third place overall. In the 250 class, Justin Barcia’s first and second place finishes were good for the overall top podium spot. Baggett continued to show that he has the speed to win, by taking victory in moto 2 for a second overall for the day. KTM’s Ken Roczen finished 3rd overall with a disappointing 4th place in Moto 2…yet was still able to give KTM another podium finish for the day. Stay tuned to our facebook page at  http://www.facebook.com/ChronicMotoX  for race updates, photos and videos. Cheers, Chronic MX.

2012 Thunder Valley Outdoor Motocross 450 Results:
1. Ryan Dungey (KTM) 1-1
2. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki) 2-4
3. Andrew Short (Honda) 7-2
4. Nico Izzi (Yamaha) 5-5
5. Brett Metcalfe (Suzuki) 3-10
6. Mike Alessi (Suzuki) 4-9
7. Justin Brayton (Honda) 9-6
8. Michael Byrne (Suzuki) 12-7
9. Billy Laninovich (Honda) 11-8
10. Kyle Chisholm (Kawasaki) 10-11
2012 Thunder Valley Outdoor Motocross 250 Results:
1. Justin Barcia (Honda) 1-2
2. Blake Bagget (Kawasaki) 3-1
3. Ken Roczen (KTM) 2-4
4. Eli Tomac (Honda) 4-3
5. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 5-5
6. Malcolm Stewart (KTM) 8-6
7. Blake Wharton (Suzuki) 6-9
8. Will Hahn (Honda) 10-7
9. Kyle Cunningham (Yamaha) 9-10
10. Jake Canada (Honda) 7-14